A blog devoted to the discussion of the greatest movies ever made, or The Essential Films. From the beginning of cinema history to present day, these films are crucial to the education of anyone who loves the art of film making.

Described as a "liberal adaptation" of the Frankenstein story by Edison, the film packs a lot into its 14 minute runtime. The film wastes no time in getting right to the good stuff, practically skipping right to the experiment. Instead of lightning bringing the monster to life, you see the monster materialize from skeleton to flesh. The special effects for the time are quite impressive and terrifying. The film is in the public domain, which you can check out below.

One of the earliest examples of horror on film comes from the imagination of Georges Méliès. Clocking in at a little over 3 minutes, Méliès packs a lot into the single shot short film. A bat bursts through a window in a castle and transforms into Mephistopheles. What follows is a series of in-camera magic tricks as the devil conjures up a series of supernatural creatures.